Prior to the game, which the South Sydney Rabbitohs would go on to win, Slash took to the stage in front of over 83,000 people, and played the song Bent To Fly, which appears on the recently-released album World On Fire which he recorded with Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators. Kennedy and his band were nowhere to be seen, however, so Slash was backed solely by a wall of amps and a backing track.

Slash’s rather inanimate performance (below) was slightly revived by a short lick from the Guns N’ Roses classic Sweet Child O’ Mine, but it was clear that the crowd were more excited to see American band Train perform a medley of hits (below), including Hey, Soul Sister, Drops Of Jupiter and Angel in Blue Jeans.

When Tony Abbott was introduced to the crowd by the Nine Network’s Ken Sutcliffe during the post-match award ceremony, he was greeted with an almighty boo, which garnered a trademark dry grin from the Prime Minister.